9:41 AM
Amy and Meagan
Head over to Walgreens photo and click on the banner for a free 8x10 collage or $1.99 poster. You can choose store pick up to make the collage totally free. Hurry because this deal ends on Saturday the 22nd!
10/20/2011
10/10/2011
All About Ebates
I'm sure you're all wondering, what is Ebates? I've seen the commercial for them, but what are they? Well, here is a quick rundown of who they are and what they do.
What is Ebates?
Ebates is a leader in online cash back shopping. They pay members cash back every time they shop online. They also give them the best coupons and deals online. Each Store offers a different cash back percentage or dollar amount for shopping with them. Just look at the amount next to the store name on the Ebates website to see how much you will earn.
How does it work?
It's quite simple. Every time you decide to shop online, instead of going directly to Target's (ex.) website, and buying what you want, go to Ebates and log into your account. Once logged in, go to the list of stores and choose Target. You will immediately see how much you will earn for shopping there, and be sent directly to Target's website through Ebates. But what's different? Now Ebates knows you are shopping at Target, and they know how much to pay you back for doing so. It's as simple as that!
Where can I shop?
Ebates is linked to over 1,200 online stores (including Walmart, Target, even Amazon), so the odds are it's worth checking out. If you ever shop online, then Ebates is worth the free sign up.
How do I get paid?
Ebates sends out payments four times a year. You can choose to receive a check or get payed via PayPal. As long as you have more than $5.01 in your account, you will be payed.
How can I sign up?
You can go to the Ebates website to sign up now.
What is Ebates?
Ebates is a leader in online cash back shopping. They pay members cash back every time they shop online. They also give them the best coupons and deals online. Each Store offers a different cash back percentage or dollar amount for shopping with them. Just look at the amount next to the store name on the Ebates website to see how much you will earn.
How does it work?
It's quite simple. Every time you decide to shop online, instead of going directly to Target's (ex.) website, and buying what you want, go to Ebates and log into your account. Once logged in, go to the list of stores and choose Target. You will immediately see how much you will earn for shopping there, and be sent directly to Target's website through Ebates. But what's different? Now Ebates knows you are shopping at Target, and they know how much to pay you back for doing so. It's as simple as that!
Where can I shop?
Ebates is linked to over 1,200 online stores (including Walmart, Target, even Amazon), so the odds are it's worth checking out. If you ever shop online, then Ebates is worth the free sign up.
How do I get paid?
Ebates sends out payments four times a year. You can choose to receive a check or get payed via PayPal. As long as you have more than $5.01 in your account, you will be payed.
How can I sign up?
You can go to the Ebates website to sign up now.
9/28/2011
Free $2 Extra Buck from CVS!
Do you like FREE stuff? Who doesn't? Head over here to get a $2 Extra Buck just for pledging that you won't through your Extra Bucks away. I don't know about you, but I definitely never throw mine away anyway! Check it out as soon as possible, this deal is limited to a certain amount of people and may not last long. Oh and just as a warning, that video is very stupid. :)
9/25/2011
All You Smart Shopping - Not worth it!
Recently there was a lot of buzz about a coupon for $1.00 off All You magazine. Initially I think that everyone thought it was for the monthly magazine but it was actually for a special "Smart Shopping" edition. Unlike the regular issues, this special edition was priced at $4.97. I bought it (with a coupon of course) and I have to say that I think it was a waste of money. If you haven't bought it yet, I say don't waste your money. There are only two coupons in it (in the back, for other magazines) and all of the information in it can easily be found online for FREE at various money-saving blogs. If you have already been researching ways to save money it probably won't do you any good. Toss the coupon and save the $4 for something better. :) Did anyone else buy this? What did you think about it?
9/18/2011
"Money Makers" at Drugstores and other places
If you have visited any coupon blogs you have probably seen the term "money maker" or "MM." This means (supposedly) that you got back more money than you spent. The reason that I don't like this is because many times it gives people a false impression because they are subtracting any earned register rewards, gift cards, or extra bucks from their total. Confused? Here is a scenario:
Let's say that Tampons are $7 at CVS and you get a $7 Extra buck with purchase, let's also say that there was a $1 off printable coupon online (there was a similar deal to this last week.) Okay, so you pay $6 plus tax and receive a $7 extra buck. Some people call that a $1 money maker.
Now, if you used extra bucks from a previous week to pay for it, it would be a "money maker" because you spent nothing or very little out of pocket. If you actually spent $6, then you SPENT SIX DOLLARS. It's great to have the reward for next week, but those rewards can be lost or forgotten about (especially for newbies.) I also see people counting rewards TWICE. The day they get them and the day they spend them, this doesn't make sense at all. For me, I count whatever CASH I spend out of pocket as my total spent. If I have rewards left over from last week (and I usually do) this total is little or nothing. Last week I spent $.04 at CVS at Walgreens ($.03 at CVS, $.01 at Walgreens) because of leftover rewards.
Why is this a big deal? Well it isn't, but I think some people who are new to couponing get confused or discouraged because their actually expenses seem higher than what they see online. To me, counting the CASH that I spent makes the most sense. Now there are true "money makers" out there. For example Wal-Mart will give you money back if your coupons go over your total amount. I've never done this personally because I use overage toward other items. Also if you use your Extra Bucks from last week at CVS, spend little or no cash and come out with more Extra Bucks than you went in with, that is also a "money maker" (even if it is paper money.)
9/10/2011
Money Savings Websites
This part of All You's website has coupons (some exclusive!) and a daily freebie. Sometimes the freebies are really good. Some freebies will arrive with coupons too.
This is one of my favorite sites for money saving tips. I love her realistic guides to couponing (for those of us who aren't so "extreme") and simple money saving solutions. She also posts CVS and Walgreens match-ups almost weekly.
This is one of the best sites for all things coupons. They have multiple posts per day and sometimes post about things other than couponing (like saving on vacations.) Also check out the "Brag Lounge" to see what kind of deals others have been getting and maybe check if your stores have the same deals!
I hate how this site is set up (too many ads) but I love the drugstore deals section which is updated weekly. This section has match-ups for sales and coupons at many stores. You may have a couple for a freebie or cheap item and not even know it! Use this site to check.
Another helpful coupon site with links to the best printables and guides for various stores.
Want to know what coupons will be in this Sunday's paper? This site will tell you ahead of time.
If you live in a rural area (like I do) Wal-Mart may be the only store that is nearby. If I didn't drive for work I would rarely be able to go to Walgreens, CVS or Target without going out of my way. Unfortunately Wal-Mart is not the best place to coupon (in most cases.) This site is run by a man, which I think is cool, and it's all about couponing at Wal-Mart!
So those are some of my favorite places to visit for coupon and money saving tips, what are your favorite money-saving websites?
9/06/2011
10 Pampers Gifts to Grow Points
If your child is in Pampers diapers or Easy-Ups, you definitely need a Gifts to Grow account. You can redeem the points for gift cards, or prizes for yourself or your baby!
8/29/2011
My New Workout Routine - Update
I bet you probably think I stopped working out! Don't you? No, I didn't! I cut back on the 30 Day Shred for a few days, because Amy ordered it, and I was waiting for hers to arrive to start back with her. So we can hold each other accountable! ;-) I gave in today and went ahead and did it though.
Either way, I have still been working out. I've added a few more workouts to my collection, and I've been doing a wide variety exercise. Today, I started the morning with a quick 10 minute workout (crunches, squats, push ups, etc). I also started using a video by Leslie Sansone called Walk Away the Pounds. I've read amazing reviews on her walk-at-home program, so I figured this would be great for me to do every day, even if I can't fit in another workout. I found two of her videos on YouTube. Apparently, both combined equal a 2 mile walk. I'm not too sure about that, but I know it's a straight 28 minutes of walking, which is fine by me. I eventually would like to purchase her whole collection, but until I have a few more Amazon gift cards from Swagbucks, I'll stick to the YouTube videos. I've been doing Part 1: Start Quick & Easy and Part 2: Burn Fat & Back it Down. Each video is a little over 14 minutes long, so it's a nice workout just under a half an hour. If you feel like you want to ease your way into working out, this is perfect for just that!
I've also been doing at least 10 minutes of Tae-Bo every day. It just makes me feel better, and even 10 minutes of Tae-Bo is a decent workout. I read on a website that just 10 minutes of Tae-Bo burns over 100 calories. That's amazing to me! Billy Blanks has a way of keeping you moving.
I also picked up a Denise Austin Pilates video from the Goodwill that I started doing. It's based on the work of J.H. Pilates, and although I think I like yoga over Pilates, it is a great workout. She does incorporate more yoga more in the second half of the video.
Anyway, that's an update on what I've been up to. Today I managed to do my 10 minute morning workout, a 2 mile walk, and 30 Day Shred, so I'm definitely feeling the burn. And I'm loving every minute of it!
Either way, I have still been working out. I've added a few more workouts to my collection, and I've been doing a wide variety exercise. Today, I started the morning with a quick 10 minute workout (crunches, squats, push ups, etc). I also started using a video by Leslie Sansone called Walk Away the Pounds. I've read amazing reviews on her walk-at-home program, so I figured this would be great for me to do every day, even if I can't fit in another workout. I found two of her videos on YouTube. Apparently, both combined equal a 2 mile walk. I'm not too sure about that, but I know it's a straight 28 minutes of walking, which is fine by me. I eventually would like to purchase her whole collection, but until I have a few more Amazon gift cards from Swagbucks, I'll stick to the YouTube videos. I've been doing Part 1: Start Quick & Easy and Part 2: Burn Fat & Back it Down. Each video is a little over 14 minutes long, so it's a nice workout just under a half an hour. If you feel like you want to ease your way into working out, this is perfect for just that!
I've also been doing at least 10 minutes of Tae-Bo every day. It just makes me feel better, and even 10 minutes of Tae-Bo is a decent workout. I read on a website that just 10 minutes of Tae-Bo burns over 100 calories. That's amazing to me! Billy Blanks has a way of keeping you moving.
I also picked up a Denise Austin Pilates video from the Goodwill that I started doing. It's based on the work of J.H. Pilates, and although I think I like yoga over Pilates, it is a great workout. She does incorporate more yoga more in the second half of the video.
Anyway, that's an update on what I've been up to. Today I managed to do my 10 minute morning workout, a 2 mile walk, and 30 Day Shred, so I'm definitely feeling the burn. And I'm loving every minute of it!
8/28/2011
7 things that you should never pay more than $1.00 for
Oral Care
Never, ever, EVER pay for toothbrushes! You can get these for free* at the drugstores almost every week. There are almost always coupons for toothbrushes that can be combined with sales for a free item. For instance last week I purchased a Colgate 360 toothbrush. Retail price was $4.99 (which is ridiculous if you ask me) but it came with a $4.00 Register Reward. I also had a coupon from All You magazine for a $1.00 off. So I paid $3.99 plus tax for the toothbrush (I used Register Rewards from my last trip) and got $4.00 back! Toothpaste and floss have similar deals. You can regularly find deals for toothpaste and floss for no more than $.25 or $.50.
*"free" after Register Rewards, Extra Bucks, Gift cards, etc. You may have to pay a little bit out of pocket initially but you will get the money back to spend later.
Hair Care
You could pay $1.00 for cheap shampoo or you could pay $1.00 (or less!) for the "good" brands like Pantene, Herbal Essences, Garnier, etc. These can be a little trickier, I am currently stocked up on Garnier coupons (my husbands favorite brand) waiting for a good sale. You may have to wait for a few weeks to find a sale on your favorite brand but if you aren't picky there are great sales on these items every week. There are always new newspaper and printable coupons for hair care. Target clearance is also a GREAT place to find very low prices on your favorites brands that can be combined with coupons. A couple of months ago there was a deal on Finesse sulfate free shampoo, after a coupon and a mail in rebate it was absolutely FREE!
Deodorant
Like hair care, there are always coupons floating around out there for deodorant. There is currently a $1.00 off Degree coupon for premium deodorant that has no size restriction. These can be redeemed at Target where the trial size premium deodorant is only $.97! There was also recently a deal where Mitchum deodorant was free and last week at Walgreens full-size Degree deodorant was only $.75.
Body Wash
Just like with hair care, there are usually coupons for body wash, soap, and lotion and plenty of good sales to be combined with. The most important thing is to try to leave your brand loyalty behind because your coupons may expire while you are waiting for a good sale on your favorite products. If you see a good sale on a brand that you like where the final price is under $1.00, stock up!
Pantyliners
Never pay full price for any feminine hygiene product! There are coupons for these products almost every week in the newspaper and they also run regularly online. Carefree pantyliners can often be bought for less than $.25 for a small package and currently U by Kotex has a $1 off any product coupon that can be used on the smallest package of liners for a final price of only $.24 at Wal-Mart.
Bandages
Nexcare, Curad, and Bandaid brands have all recently had coupons for their products. I was able to score a bunch of plain Nexcare bandages for FREE at Wal-Mart and also some Shrek bandages for only $.74.
Trial size items
Sometimes coupons do not have a size restriction (meaning it will NOT say "excludes trial sizes") and that means you are free to use it on a trial size. Regardless of what a rude cashier might tell you. I've had lots and lots of issues with this at Wal-Mart, one cashier acted like I was stealing the money straight out of her pocket. I can assure you that the manufactures know what they are doing and if they didn't want you to use it on a trial size they would put it on the coupon! I'm not an expert but I think that the manufactures want you to try the product even if they lose money, because they know that coupons will not be available forever and if you like the product you will buy it again even if it isn't free. This is also why there are often high value coupons for products (especially new products) which make the products free. Some of the trial size items that I have gotten for free or very cheap: Dove hairspray, Degree deodorant, Tide singles detergent, Cascade dishwasher tabs. I recommend using these coupons at Target over Wal-Mart, I have also never had a problem at Walgreens trying to use a coupon that didn't have a size restriction.
So as you can see there is no need to spend a lot of money on every day necessities. If you can't wait for a good sale, use a coupon and buy one of what you need and then save the rest of your coupons for a sale. Like I mentioned before, there are sometimes very high value coupons that do make other products free. Some of the most recent coupons like this were for Bengay, Zyrtec and Tylenol Precise. If you see these coupons, print the maximum that you can (usually 2 per computer) and stock up, but please try not to clear any shelves! Even if it is for a product that you will not use, you can always give it away to someone who will.
8/27/2011
Couponing This Week
I know that I have been absent lately but I've had a lot of personal stuff going on. I wanted to do a little "couponing update." A lot of people seem to think that couponing is too difficult for working moms because we have enough to do between work and everything we have to do once we get home. For me this hasn't been the case at all. I drive people who are on medicaid for work I usually have to wait for a while while they are in their doctors appointments. Since I live in a small town with no Walgreens, CVS, Target, etc. (there is a Wal-Mart about 10 miles away) this works out really well. I don't have to waste my own gas driving up to a larger town to shop at these stores which is great because the gas would almost make the savings not worth my time! I have been buying a few things every week trying to build up a small stockpile. Most of what I have is household products, but I am working on food as well. I am not an extreme couponer my any means, I try to keep the cashiers happy and usually only buy a handful of products at once. I don't get hundreds of dollars of items for free but I've gotten a lot of things that my family will actually use cheap or free. My largest "coupon haul" has been this week for sure and I wanted to share it. I went to 4 Walgreens stores (some more than once,) Target, Wal-Mart and CVS. My OOP (out of pocket) price for all of this was about $40, and I still have Register Rewards ($9, I think) from Walgreens left for next week. Most of this was purchased at Walgreens, I also have 1 more Dial body wash, 3 more packs of Papermate pens and 4 more mini degree deodorants not pictured that were purchased yesterday. Here is a very rough breakdown of my purchases.
Walgreens (4 different stores)
6 Dial Bodywashes ($3.99-3RR) = $.99 you can often find body wash completely free but I really liked this and my sister uses it so I got some extras for her
6 (I think) packs of blue papermate pens = $.29 each with in-ad coupon. We use these for work and always need more, great "filler" item!
6 (I think) mailers = $.39 with in ad coupon. I mail diapers/dryer balls/etc very often and this was a good price. I love using "filler" items that I actually need!
Cottonelle TP ($5-$.50 coupon-$1 coupon) $3.50
16 Degree mini deodorants (.$97-$.75 coupon) $.22 each. The first 4 of these that I bought printed out a register reward and I kept trying for another but no suck long.
2 Degree deodorant (2/$4-(2)$.75 coupons-$1RR) $.75 each
4 Mini notebooks $.15 with in ad coupon, for my sister who is a waitress
KY Yours+Mine ($15-$5 coupon-$5RR)-$5 No explanation needed here, lol.
4 M&Ms (2/$4-$1 coupon-$1RR) $1 each, potty bribing candy :)
Cheezits & Keebler Cookies (4/$10-$5RR) $5 for 4.
Dawn dishsoap ($.99-$.50 coupon and $.25 coupon) .$25 and .$50 each
Gatorade, buy Perform ($1.79) get catalina for Prime and Recover for free, I did this twice but only got the catalina for the free products the first time.
Proglide Razor ($9.99-$4 coupon-$4RR) = $1.99
360 Toothbrush ($4.99-$1 coupon-$4RR) = Free
Airwick thing, ($7.99-$4 coupon-3RR) $.99 I plan to give this away because I don't use stuff like this
There are probably more Walgreens purchases hiding in there but those are the only ones I can remember. I am doing this off the top of my head without receipts (which is really, really sad now that I think about it.) :)
Target
5 Degree premium mini deodorants ($.97-$1 coupon) = FREE, because I don't have enough mini deodorants right? :) I actually plan to use them instead of regular deodorant until I run out, in 10 years.
Method All Purpose Cleaner (not pictured) ($2.99-$1 coupon) = $1.99, I LOVE Method and I'd much rather use it than the chemical stuff, even if it was free.
Dove Bodywash 2 pack, plus bracelet. $3.50 clearance - 1.25 coupon = $1.75 for both, this was a great price because one of the body washes is regular size and one is really big.
2 Cottonelle Flushable Wipes, I can't remember the exact price but I had a $1.75 coupon and a $1 off coupon (Target and Manufactures) and another printed at the register for next time. I think they were about $.80 each, these are for Kainan.
Wal-Mart
3 U by Kotex liners ($1.24-$1 coupon) = $.24 each
4 Tampax Compak Tampons ($3.99-2BOGO coupons-2$1 off coupons) = About $1.50 per box.
Pull-ups Flushable Wipes ($1.74-$1 coupon) $.74, also for Kainan
Keri Lotion (PM to Walgreens at $1.99-2 coupon) FREE some stores/cashiers will price match after register rewards and some won't, it just depends on who you get
2 Advil Pocketpacks ($1.79-$2 coupon) FREE
5 packs of scotch tape (PM to Staples at $.50-$1 coupon) FREE plus .50 overage which was applied to the other purchaes
Bubbles, $.50 on sale, for Kainan
Beechnut baby food ($.39 each-$1/3 coupon) about $.10 each. I plan to make most of my own babyfood when Mikaela is ready for it (about a month or two) but I thought these would be nice for the diaper bag, etc.
10 Pack of Minutemaid juice ($2 something - $1 coupon) = $1something (my memory is failing me now)
CVS
Cheap wine, $2.99 :)
If you did the math and can't see how I only spent $40 (or so) it's because I "rolled" my Register Reward purchases at Walgreens. There are lots of sites and blogs with tutorials on couponing at various stores but I will probably write up my own sometime for Walgreens since it is my new favorite place to shop.
Walgreens (4 different stores)
6 Dial Bodywashes ($3.99-3RR) = $.99 you can often find body wash completely free but I really liked this and my sister uses it so I got some extras for her
6 (I think) packs of blue papermate pens = $.29 each with in-ad coupon. We use these for work and always need more, great "filler" item!
6 (I think) mailers = $.39 with in ad coupon. I mail diapers/dryer balls/etc very often and this was a good price. I love using "filler" items that I actually need!
Cottonelle TP ($5-$.50 coupon-$1 coupon) $3.50
16 Degree mini deodorants (.$97-$.75 coupon) $.22 each. The first 4 of these that I bought printed out a register reward and I kept trying for another but no suck long.
2 Degree deodorant (2/$4-(2)$.75 coupons-$1RR) $.75 each
4 Mini notebooks $.15 with in ad coupon, for my sister who is a waitress
KY Yours+Mine ($15-$5 coupon-$5RR)-$5 No explanation needed here, lol.
4 M&Ms (2/$4-$1 coupon-$1RR) $1 each, potty bribing candy :)
Cheezits & Keebler Cookies (4/$10-$5RR) $5 for 4.
Dawn dishsoap ($.99-$.50 coupon and $.25 coupon) .$25 and .$50 each
Gatorade, buy Perform ($1.79) get catalina for Prime and Recover for free, I did this twice but only got the catalina for the free products the first time.
Proglide Razor ($9.99-$4 coupon-$4RR) = $1.99
360 Toothbrush ($4.99-$1 coupon-$4RR) = Free
Airwick thing, ($7.99-$4 coupon-3RR) $.99 I plan to give this away because I don't use stuff like this
There are probably more Walgreens purchases hiding in there but those are the only ones I can remember. I am doing this off the top of my head without receipts (which is really, really sad now that I think about it.) :)
Target
5 Degree premium mini deodorants ($.97-$1 coupon) = FREE, because I don't have enough mini deodorants right? :) I actually plan to use them instead of regular deodorant until I run out, in 10 years.
Method All Purpose Cleaner (not pictured) ($2.99-$1 coupon) = $1.99, I LOVE Method and I'd much rather use it than the chemical stuff, even if it was free.
Dove Bodywash 2 pack, plus bracelet. $3.50 clearance - 1.25 coupon = $1.75 for both, this was a great price because one of the body washes is regular size and one is really big.
2 Cottonelle Flushable Wipes, I can't remember the exact price but I had a $1.75 coupon and a $1 off coupon (Target and Manufactures) and another printed at the register for next time. I think they were about $.80 each, these are for Kainan.
Wal-Mart
3 U by Kotex liners ($1.24-$1 coupon) = $.24 each
4 Tampax Compak Tampons ($3.99-2BOGO coupons-2$1 off coupons) = About $1.50 per box.
Pull-ups Flushable Wipes ($1.74-$1 coupon) $.74, also for Kainan
Keri Lotion (PM to Walgreens at $1.99-2 coupon) FREE some stores/cashiers will price match after register rewards and some won't, it just depends on who you get
2 Advil Pocketpacks ($1.79-$2 coupon) FREE
5 packs of scotch tape (PM to Staples at $.50-$1 coupon) FREE plus .50 overage which was applied to the other purchaes
Bubbles, $.50 on sale, for Kainan
Beechnut baby food ($.39 each-$1/3 coupon) about $.10 each. I plan to make most of my own babyfood when Mikaela is ready for it (about a month or two) but I thought these would be nice for the diaper bag, etc.
10 Pack of Minutemaid juice ($2 something - $1 coupon) = $1something (my memory is failing me now)
CVS
Cheap wine, $2.99 :)
If you did the math and can't see how I only spent $40 (or so) it's because I "rolled" my Register Reward purchases at Walgreens. There are lots of sites and blogs with tutorials on couponing at various stores but I will probably write up my own sometime for Walgreens since it is my new favorite place to shop.
